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Sword Art Online: Extra Edition Review

Hello everyone, I hope your new year is going well so far and today I’m super excited to review a bonus episode of SAO that came out on New Year’s Eve.

When I first watch SAO two years ago… I wasn’t a reviewer yet, so I watched it, I enjoyed it, I got caught in the middle of two people fighting about it, and I got really annoyed at the mass number of cosplayers as Kirito. In retrospect, I can say that the show was definitely flawed but the art was nice and for otakus or gamers who enjoy intense MMORPG, it could be relatable to these viewers in the sense that a lot of them would really want to be trapped in this epic fantasy world. I always felt SAO was enjoyable as a viewer, especially the first part of the show but when they twisted it up in the middle and threw us into ALO and made Kirito a fairy and then threw his sister at him (literally), I really didn’t know what to think.

I liked the Extra Edition (episode?) in the sense that of reminiscing the epic moments of the show that I enjoyed… before reaching the disgusting moments at the end of ALO with the Fairy King and his fetishes. *shudders* The recaps are done for us by Kirito’s narration to Kikuouka Sijiro, a member of the inistry of Internal Affairs who is still trying to figure out why Akihiko Kayaba created the SAO world. This all takes place within the school’s counselling office while Asuna, Silica and Lizbeth are teaching Leafa how to swim. This intense recap of the original SAO story takes the bulk of the episode’s one and a half hour air time. To be honest, there was a lot of fan service for guys with the whole swimming bit… so I was really waiting for the end stuff when the gang logs into ALO and takes an underwater quest so that Yui can see a real whale.

I moderately enjoyed the characters interactions during the quest but Leafa turns into a clumsy little girl who needs to be saved by – who else? – BUT KIRITO, AGAIN. Why does every female heroine turn into a powerless idiot after meeting Kirito? And c’mon, we didn’t get to see Asuna and Kirito in ALO at all because she was in captivity so I thought we’d at least get to see them interact more during the quest, if not in real life. I’m sorely disappointed at the lack of badass fighting Asuna in the ALO quest but it was nice to see her character design flushed out as an undine healer. Just as a sidenote, I didn’t think that A-1 Pictures or at least the animators or director, was going to go with the rainbow coloured team… but in end they did and as pleasing to the eye as it is, it is SO overdone.

The biggest highlight for me upon re-visiting the SAO world is definitely re-listening to the opening song, “Crossing Field” by LiSA, “Overfly” by Luna Haruna, two of my favourite singers. As well, we get to listen to a new song called “Niji no Oto” also sung by Eir Aoi who previously sang “Innocence.” This new song is probably my favourite of all the vocalized music in SAO because I think the melody and Aoi’s vocals really capture the nostalgia that looking back at SAO evokes as well as the sentiments for new worlds and new adventures that the players will explore.

… and they do explore new worlds. At the end of the Extra Edition episode, we get a glimpse of the next arc and new season – Gun Gale Online. I’m pretty psyched to see it and while you’re waiting for the next season to come out, what better way to reminisce than to re-watch the anime or re-listen to the soundtrack. If anything, the SAO Extra Edition is good to pull out just before GGO is released so you remember everything that happened previously if you don’t have time to re-watch the whole series.

Thought I’d show you guys, my light novels of SAO, I have the Chinese translated copies from Hong Kong. I am seriously contemplating getting SAO plushies so I have something to hug during my GGO watching a few months down the road LOL but I hope you guys enjoyed hearing my thoughts on the Sword Art Online: Extra Edition. If you’re waiting for or looking for more, be sure to follow me because I will definitely be doing an episode by episode review when that series releases.